Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

Research Explores Addiction As Computational Process

Date:

December 21, 2004

Source:

University Of Minnesota Academic Health Center

Summary:

A University of Minnesota researcher developed a computational model of addiction which can be used to make predictions about human behavior, animal behavior, and neurophysiology. By bringing addiction theory into a computational realm, researchers will be able to ask and answer key questions to gain valuable insight into addictive behavior.

Share This

MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL (Dec. 9, 2004) -- A University of Minnesota researcher developed a computational model of addiction which can be used to make predictions about human behavior, animal behavior, and neurophysiology. By bringing addiction theory into a computational realm, researchers will be able to ask and answer key questions to gain valuable insight into addictive behavior. The model was developed based on two hypotheses: that dopamine serves as a reward-error learning signal to produce temporal-difference learning in the normal brain, and that cocaine produces an increase in dopamine directly in phases. The research will be published in the December 10 issue of Science.

Related Articles

Addiction is likely to be a complex process arising from transitions between learning algorithms. Because this model has key variables and values in place, researchers can test a variety of questions regarding addictive behaviors to better understand factors of addiction.

“Different theories about addictions have existed for a long time, but had not yet been connected with learning and memory,” said David Redish, Ph. D., Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota. “By connecting addiction research with learning and memory research, we are able to use learning and memory models to test and predict a variety of addictive behaviors and signals.”

Addictive drugs have been hypothesized to access the same neurophysiological mechanisms as natural learning systems. These systems can be modeled through temporal-difference reinforcement learning (TDRL), which requires a reward-error signal thought to be carried by dopamine.

Natural increases in dopamine occur after unexpected natural rewards; however, with learning these increases shift from the time of reward delivery to cueing stimuli. In TDRL, once the value function predicts the reward, learning stops. Cocaine and other addictive drugs, however, produce a momentary increase in dopamine through neuropharmacological mechanisms, thereby continuing to drive learning, forcing the brain to over-select choices which lead to getting drugs.

This computational model of addiction connects a variety of disparate learning theories and will allow researches to test how addiction impacts learning systems.

###

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota’s six health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC prepares the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.

More From ScienceDaily

More Mind & Brain News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — The literary great Marcel Proust wore ear-stoppers because he was unable to filter out irrelevant noise -- and lined his bedroom with cork to attenuate sound. Now new research suggests why the ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Attendance at schools exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution is linked to slower cognitive development among 7- to 10-year-old children in Barcelona, according to a new ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — No significant change in home habits of smokers have been observed in the aftermath of a ban on smoking in public spaces, researchers report. Greater inspiration to kick the habit likely comes from ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Heart function has been associated with the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease through a new study. Participants with decreased heart function, measured by cardiac index, were two to ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Children of recently separated or divorced families are likelier to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than children in families where the parents are married, putting them at higher risk for obesity ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Although sedatives are often administered before surgery, a randomized trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Why do people shake hands? A new study suggests one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other's odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — It appears that stress markers in unemployed people can be found, independent of smoking, alcohol consumption and overweight/obesity. Results from a study suggest that long-term unemployment may be ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — On the heels of an American nationwide measles outbreak comes a report that campaigns aimed at scaring people about the consequences of non-vaccination might not be as effective as many think. ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Doctors write millions of prescriptions a year for drugs to calm the behavior of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. But non-drug approaches actually work better, and carry ... full story

Related Stories

Apr. 23, 2014 — A novel compound that targets an important brain receptor has a dramatic effect against a host of cocaine addiction behaviors, including relapse behavior, an animal study has found. The research ... full story

Mar. 20, 2014 — Addictive behavior such as drug and alcohol abuse could be associated with poor development of the so-called "love hormone" system in our bodies during early childhood, according to ... full story

Dec. 19, 2013 — A treatment for addiction problems based on meditation-like techniques can be helpful as a supplement to help someone get out of addiction. Scientific and mathematical arguments are given for this in ... full story

Aug. 29, 2012 — Internet addiction is not a figment of our imagination, researchers in Germany say. Over the past years, the researchers have interviewed a total of 843 people about their Internet habits. An ... full story

July 12, 2011 — New research suggests that people can become dependent on highly palatable foods and engage in a compulsive pattern of consumption, similar to the behaviors we observe in drug addicts and those with ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.